Golf putting practice green



Nov. 16, 1943 w s; BUFFHAM 2,334,540

GOLF PUTTING PRACTICE GREEN Filed. July 29, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR WILLIAM S.BUFFHAM ATTORNEYS Nov. 16, 1943.

W. S. BUFFHAM GOLF PUTTING PRACTICE GREEN Filed July 29, 1942 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Q w w INVENTOR WiLLIAM S.BUFFHAM AT TORNEYS Nov. 16,1943. w s BUFFHAM 2,334,540

GOLF PUTTING PRACTICE GREEN Filed July 29, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fxy.10.

INVENTOR WILLIAM S. BUFFHAM ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 16, 1943 ITED: ST EPATENTw-o l E t 1 l I TLC M'. doLrlrurrmo mneizmeentes Q a sgfie eiR dati e; I I r a nsjincaeeams zamiaseiiarnei iras'n This inventionappertains to a golf game and more particularly to a practiceputtingwgreen capable of use in the -home, "amusement halls,

hotel lobbies and the like.

One of the primaryobject of my invention is to provide apractice orartificial putting green in which the surface'contour ofthe playingfloor or'fleld can be varied to simulate the approach of the variousholes "orcups at differentgolf courses, whereby a" maximum-"amountof'skill in puttingwillbe' developed by the users' o-f the apparatus. i 7

s Another salient-object of my inventionisto "provide 7 a practiceputting green embodying a fiexible playing fielder floor with: meansunder the control ofthe playerior'fiexi'ng thefie ldor floor whereby tocontinuously change the-contour of said field 'orfloorand-thereby'efiectively simulate the difierent rolling greens of variousgolf courses; 1 1

A further object of my invention is the provision of a practiceputtinggreen embodying a raised platform constituting a stand for the-player:and the ball and an elongated flexible field or floor over-which theball is played toward a 1' cup orrhole at the endi of the: floor androtatable eccentric members arranged adjacent to the corners ofth floorfor raising and lowering the floor adjacent to said comers andrtherebyet- A' further important object of my invention is the provision ofa'single operated lever arrangedtrics. at one end of the floor at. adiiferent. speed,

of rotation from the speedofrotation of the eccentrics at the other endoi said. floor,.whereby the contour of the floor will-be continuouslychanged upon each operation of the hand-lever,

.t A further important objector my invention which drawings:

lecture and which will extenda maximum amount or pleasure to the userthereof.

with these andbther objects in'Vie-W the 111- vention consists in thenovel construction, arrangementand formation ofparts, as' 'will" be'h'ereinatter more specifically described; claimed 'nd illustrated inthe accompanying drawings,

' Figure 1 is a top plan viewof'my improved device with kparts thereofbroken away and in FigureSisanend elevational view of the golfv practicedevice showing the players end thereof. "Figure 6 is a d'etail sectionalview taken on =t h''line 6 -6 of Figure; looking inthe direction is theprovision of means under the: control of .the player for raisingvandlowering one end of the floor whereby the inclinationof th tiger fromone end tothe other can be varied.

A further object of my invention is the prov vision or meansforreturning the played ball 'to the player's stand whereby the same canbeconof the arrows illustrating one form of r for one of therotatable'shafts.- k 2 A *view A taken onthe line 9-9 01? Figure inthejdirectio-n of-the arrows.

mounting sectional view'jillustrating slightly modified form ofmydnvention. 1

e Figure 81s a 'detail f-ragmentary side elevationalview"i-llus't'rating the used camsfor changing the angle 'or pitch-of'the'field onfioor "instead 9 is a fragmentary transverse'sect'ional 8looking Figures 10450 13 inclusive are longitudi-nal secs tional viewsof a diagrammatic nature illustrati-ng certain contours 'the flexibleplaying board or field will assume during the rotation of the shafts; f1 1.

j Figure 1-4 a; transverse sectional view a diagrammatic natureillustrating one portion of the flexible field or floor during the.rotation of .oneoftheshafts;v q r '-Referring to thedrawi-ngs insimilar-i reference '1 characters designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views, the letter A generally indicates-my novelgolf practice putting apparatus'and thesame includes a raised platformlifand aneio'ng'ated playing field or floor; "The field or floor itextends forwardlyvfrom the stand ISJand'the end of the field or floorremote from the. stand is provided with a -balhreceivingcupaor holeH;towardwhich the V we 7' is afragmentary' detailed transverse I detailwherein v the pulley 33.

estals, brackets or legs and these supports l8 must have. sufficientstrength to support the weight of a person standing on said platform.The playing field or floor I6 is formed from. a

length of flexible board l9 such as ply wood,

wall board or the like and the entire surface of this board and thestand is covered with a con-.

tinuous piece of covering 20. This"co'vering 2|) is crank lever 35 willbe alternately raised and lowered. The ratchet connection between thecrank lever 36 and the shaft 26 is such that upon down- 'ward thrust ofthe handle 31 the shaft 26'wi1l 7 simultaneously turned a part of arevolution.

As the shafts26 and 21. turn the eccentrics or cranks on said shaftswill act to flex the playing field or floor l6 and hence this floor willbe moved to various positions.

As the handle is operated again the cranks will assume another positionand .ferent manner.

the playing field or floor will be flexed in a dif- Due to the fact thatthe speed ofrotation of the shafts 2s and 21 are different preferably ofa fabric having a pile soas'to. sim-;. i

ulate grass. I characters so that a fast or slow approach can be had.Secured tothe under Sid of the'board is a pair of longitudinallyextending flexiblestrips 2|. These strips 2| are disposed adjacent; tothe edgesofthe board l9 andthe strips at one end aresecured to thesupports was at 22. 5

Disposed below the flexible strips 2| areirigid longitudinally'extendingbeams or stringers; 23. The ends of these beams or stringers23are'rigidly secured to supportnig legs or feet 24, As is-clearly shownin Figures 1, 2 and 3, the supporting, legs or feet 24,are arrangedadjacent to the opposite ends of the playing fieldorfioorl6.- Thegbeams.

23 are secured togetherv against. twisting movement by braces 25. Thesebeams23 adjacent-to theiropposite ends rotatably support an; inner gshaft 26 and an outer shaft 21. These shafts; and 21' extendtransversely across the apparatus.

To facilitate theassociationof the shafts with the beams the beams can b.-provided with re.- movable bearing blocks 28 (see Figure- 6); As shownin Figures,1,'2,- 3,4 and Figures 1. .to 14 inclusive, the shaftsadjacent to their opposite ends can be-provided withcrank arms 29. Thecrank arms 28 are arranged at different angles relative to one another,for a purpose, whichwill be later set forth. Rigidly securedto the flexeible strips'Zl are dependingbearing brackets 30;

These bearing brackets 30 are arranged adjacent to the corners of theplaying;field; and, the lower ends of the bearing brackets are provided;w ith removable bearing blocks 32'v forrotatably receiving the cranks.29, Hence the playing' field or fioor I6 is connected to the rigid baseformed by the stringers 23 and the legs .24 by eccentric members orcrank arms 29. Fastened to. the shaft 26 is a pulley wheel 33andasimilarrpulley wheel 34 is fastened to the shaft 21. It is to; benoted, however, (see Figure 2) that the diameter of the pulley 34' isgreater'than the diameter of These pulleywheels 33and 34 are operativelyconnected together by an endlessipulr The fabric 20 can be of'differentn the cranks on the two shafts will constantly change relativeto one another andthis brings about the constant changing of the contourof the board. j

' -If preferred, intermediate shafts (not. shown) can be utilized foralso acting on the playing field or floor. j a

7 As .shown in Figure 10, when the cranks on the shafts 26 and Zl-aremoved away from one another the playing field or floor will be bowedupwardly. When thecranks move toward one another the playing field. orfloor will be bowed downwardly. In,F igure13, one crank is movedinwardly andthe other crank is moved outwardly and the floor is given adouble curve. In Figure 1.3, the cranks. atthe opposite end of theapparatus will turn in the same direction and the floor is given adouble curve, but in a reverse direction from that shown in Figure 12. HIn Figa manner that a said floor.

,Provision can alsoflbe-made for raising and transverse curveis given to7 lowering one end of the floor or field so that the inclination ofsaid-floor or field from one end thereofto .the' other'ca'n be changed.As shown in Figures 1-,. 2,. and 31the. shaft 21. has .rockably mountedthereon a swinging, leg 39. Thelower endof "the; leg .is provided withoutwardly. extending arms-40.1 andthese arms ,car'ry antlfrictionrollers for engaging the surface on which the apparatus is placed; Theupperend of the .leg? 39rhas ,pivotally connected thereto an operated:link 42 whichgis.disposedcunder the ley belt 35, so that upon'theturning ofoneshaft the ther shaft will be-rotated therewith, but t;

a different speed. i I 1 Operatively connected, by means a ratchetmechanism; to one end of the shaft 26'is an operating crank lever 36.Pivotally connectedto the outer end of the crank lever '36 is an. oper--or board is aball receiving basket 45cand a part Figure 3) be swungdown'so as to lift up; the

player field or floor. and this link extends toward the stand orplatform l5. This. link 42 is pivotally connected to an operating. lever43 (see The operating lever is rockably mounted on a quadrant rack 44and the lever can be latched to said-rack by means of a finger gripoperated dog. This lever43 is also arranged adjacent to the player'sstand or platform and obviously by manipulating the lever the leg,39 canouter end of saidplaying field or board.- 1 i Carried by the outer endof the playing field of this basket extends under the playing field sothat as the balls. drop off the outer;:end of the floor or fieldor dropthrough the opening I! the same will be caught; The bottom wall of thebasket inclines toward aconveyor tube 46; 1 This conveyortube 46isinclined downwardlyfrom the basket toward the players platform.Asagball rolls downthe tube 46 the same is received ina trough 14-1.This trough .4'l'is rigidly securedto a short operating lever 48 that isrockably mounted intermediate its ends on the platform I as at 49. Bypressing down on the outer end of the lever 48 the trough ll can beraised and a received ball will then roll down the trough toward theinner end thereof. This inner end is provided with an arcuate guide lip50 which directs the ball onto the platform l5 and the player canposition the ball with his club on said platform to the desired place.

Various changes can be made in my apparatus and for instance, in lieu ofusing crank arms on the shafts I can employ cams 5! as is clearly shownin Figures 8 and 9, Where I employ cams the playing field carriesdepending cam straps for receiving said cams. If preferred the cams canbe held in any desired adjusted position on the shafts by means of setscrews.

In lieu of providing a hand lever for operating the leg 39 to change theangle of inclination of the playing field or board I can provide legs 52(see Figure 7) disposed on each side of the apparatus and these legs canbe mounted on operating cranks 53 formed on the outer ends of the shaft21.

From the foregoing description, it can be seen that I have provided agolf practice putting green which will extend a player a maximum amountof amusement and develop his skill in putting over courses of differentcontours.

What I claim as new is:

1. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a raised playersplatform, an elongated flexible playing field extending forwardly fromsaid platform, said field having at least one opening therein at a pointremote from said platform, and means under the control of the player forchanging the surface contour of said field.

2. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a raised playersplatform, an elongated flexible playing field extending forwardly fromsaid platform, said field having at least one opening therein at a pointremote from said platform, eccentric members engaging the lower face ofthe field and supporting the same adjacent to the opposite cornersthereof, and means for simultaneously operating all of said eccentricmemers,

3. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a rigid base, front andrear transversely extending shafts carried by said base, a flexibleplaying field disposed above said base, eccentric members on said shaftsadjacent to the opposite ends thereof, depending bearings carried by thelower face of the playing field receiving said eccentric members, andmeans for simultaneously turning said shafts.

4. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a rigid base, front andrear transversely extending shafts carried by said base, a flexibleplaying field disposed above said base, eccentric members on said shaftsadjacent to the opposite ends thereof, depending bearings carried by thelower face of the playing field receiving said eccentric members, andmeans for simultaneously turning said shafts at different speeds.

5. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a rigid base,front andrear transversely extending shafts carried by said base, a flexibleplaying field disposed above said base, eccentric members on said shaftsadjacent to the opposite ends thereof, depending bearings carried by thelower face of the playing field receiving said eccentric members, andmeans for simultaneously turning said shafts, said means including asingle operating lever.

6. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a rigid base, front andrear transversely extending shafts carried by said base, a flexibleplaying field disposed above said base, eccentric members on said shaftsadjacent to the opposite ends thereof, depending bearings carried by thelower face of the playing field receiving said eccentric members, andmeans for simultaneously turning said shafts and means independent ofsaid eccentric members for changing the inclination of said field fromone end thereof to the other.

7. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a raised playersplatform, a rigid base extending forwardly from said platform, front and7 rear transversely extending shafts rotatably carried by the base,means operatively connecting the shafts together for simultaneousrotation, a flexible playing field arranged above said base andextending forwardly from said platform, eccentric members arranged onsaid shafts adja-- cent to the opposite ends, depending bearings carriedby the field receiving said eccentric members, and means arrangedadjacent to the players stand for rotating one of said shafts.

8. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a raised playersplatform, a rigid base extending forwardly from said platform, front andrear transversely extending shafts rotatably carried by the base, meansoperatively connecting the shafts together for simultaneous rotation, aflexible playing field arranged above said base and extending forwardlyfrom said platform, eccentric members arranged on said shafts adjacentto the opposite ends, depending bearings carried by the field receivingsaid eccentric members, and means arranged adjacent to the players standfor rotating one of said shafts, a swinging leg carried by one end ofthe playing field, and means arranged adjacent to the platform formoving said leg into and out of ground engaging position.

9. A golf practice putting apparatus comprising a raised playersplatform, a rigid base extending forwardly from said platform, front andrear transversely extending shafts rotatably carried by the base, meansoperatively connecting the shafts together for simultaneous rotation, aflexible playing field arranged above said base and extending forwardlyfrom said platform, eccentric members arranged on said shafts adjacentto the opposite ends thereof, depending bearings carried by the fieldreceiving said eccentric members, and means arranged adjacent to theplayers stand for rotating one of said shafts,

additional eccentric members on the rear shaft, and ground engaging legscarried by said additional eccentric members.

10. A golf practice putting green comprising" a raised players platform,a forwardly extending playing field having at least one ball receivingopening therein at a point remote from said platform, a basket carriedby said playing field for receiving played balls, a conveyor tubeextending toward said platform from said basket, the bottom wall of thebasket being inclined toward said tube to lead the collected ballsthereto, a trough for receiving balls from the tube, a swinging leverfor raising and lowering said trough, and a guide lip on the inner endof said trough for directing the balls laterally from said trough towardsaid platform.

WILLIAM S. BUFFHAM.

